WXPN’s Concert Picks: John Oates, Dev Lemons, Friko, Bruce Cockburn, more
Protest music, a local legend, alt pop, and more are all on the concert docket for the coming week. See the upcoming shows we’re excited about!
Friday: Jesse Welles at The Met with Hudson Freeman
The man who’s brought protest songs back into pop culture (and was our April 2025 Artist to Watch) is coming through Philadelphia again for a Friday night gig at The Met. He’s being joined by Hudson Freeman, who skyrocketed to fame with his viral song “If You Know Me” last year. Both Welles and Freeman are no strangers to WXPN.
Saturday: Friko at The Foundry with Nine Perfect Lives
Chicago indie rockers are popping into Philly for the second time this year after performing at our NON-COMM festival in May. They’re being supported at The Foundry by Brooklyn’s Nine Perfect Lives. You can listen to Friko’s 2026 NON-COMM set right here and a 2024 Friko mini concert here.
Sunday: Bruce Cockburn at Keswick Theatre with Livingston Taylor
Canadian folk rock legend (and first-ever guest on World Cafe) Bruce Cockburn dropped his 28th album, The Blood of Others, earlier this month and is out on tour in support of it. Fellow folk singer-songwriter Livingston Taylor is sharing the bill with Cockburn.
Monday: Little Barrie at Arden Gild Hall with Emmett Drueding
Little Barrie is bringing their rock stylings—which span various genres—to Delaware to kick off the workweek. Philly folk artist Emmett Drueding will support the english rockers at the show. Little Barrie got two separate shout outs in our weekly Ears We Trust feature earlier this year, too.
Tuesday: John Oates & The Good Road Band at City Winery
Pop rock icon and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee John Oates is back in his hometown (well, technically he’s from Montco) Tuesday night to perform with his Good Road Band and Acoustic Quartet. Fans can expect some hits, some new songs, and songs that shaped Oates musically. We named Hall & Oates’ “Fall In Philadelphia” one of the top 10 songs by, from, and about Philly earlier this year.
Wednesday: Allison Russell at The Colonial Theatre with Sug Daniels
We’ve got another performer from north of the border heading down to the Philly area: Canadian multi instrumentalist and WXPN favorite Allison Russell is heading to Phoenixville for a midweek show with another WXPN favorite, Sug Daniels, who just released a song for our Philly Anthems project.
Thursday: Dev Lemons at Ukie Club
Bucks County native Dev Lemons will come through Ukie Club for a solo show Thursday as she celebrates the release of her new album, hunting what we already killed. For those unaware, Lemons is also a YouTuber known for her music theory and comedy videos.
